Memories ‘ripped to shreds’ after boat slips its moorings

  • Owner believes badly damaged vessel was deliberately untied
  • Boat worth more than £5,000, went missing from its mooring at Green Island
  • It was later found heavily damaged two miles off St Catherine

A BOAT owner, who believes his vessel was deliberately untied from its moorings, says eight years of memories have been ‘ripped to shreds’ after it was found heavily damaged two miles off St Catherine.

George Butler’s motor boat, which is worth more than £5,000, went missing from its mooring at Green Island and was later found partially submerged by a passing vessel.

It was last seen undamaged by a relative on the afternoon of 24 July.

Mr Butler, who owns the boat with five other men, said: ‘Sometime between 5 and 8 pm someone must have undone the mooring lines and set it free.

‘We have owned the boat for around eight years and it was tied to the mooring in an extremely secure way.

Mr Butler spent the following day driving along the east coast trying to locate the boat.

‘We calculated that with the wind and the tides it had probably made its way 26 miles offshore towards Granville,’ Mr Butler said.

‘I was hoping that it may have been washed up on a beach in France.

‘However, the wind swung back around on Sunday towards Jersey and we feared that it may hit rocks.

‘By that point, we had lost all hope.’

The boat was discovered by a vessel travelling from Les Écréhous on Wednesday and towed onto a mooring.

The boat on its moorings

Mr Butler said: ‘It was completely wrecked, upside down and looked like a surfboard with an engine attached to it.

‘The Coastguard were very happy that it was found as at night or in fog, a boat could have easily hit it.’

He added that he believes it was children who untied his boat.

‘I do not think they wanted to trash it,’ Mr Butler said.

‘I think they most likely did not realise the consequences of tampering with the mooring lines.

‘It is not the financial loss of the boat which bothers me the most.

‘The sentimental value and the memories which I had on the boat are something which simply cannot be replaced.

‘We had eight years of enjoyment on that boat and in two minutes it has just been ripped to shreds.’

The States police are investigating the incident.

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